Chapter 25: Mended Fences
The weeks that followed were excruciating for Brixton. It took a long time for Madam Pomfrey to release her from the hospital wing and she had to learn how to navigate the castle on crutches. The moving staircases were particularly unforgiving. Thankfully by this point she was able to trade in the crutches for a cane and was able to get around with minimal pain. She was expected to make a full recovery in another few weeks.
Due to Brixton needing so much help Severus had taken to sleeping in her quarters with her. It was early in the morning and Severus brought a cup of coffee over to her and gave her a kiss on the head. She smiled and took a long drink from the warm cup. "You know," she said hesitantly, "it's been lovely sharing a bed with you since I have been recovering, but it has also been absolutely killing me if you know what I mean."
Severus nodded and climbed back into the bed cradling his mug. "Yes, it's been rather difficult abstaining with you so close every night," he agreed.
"Well, my leg barely hurts now. Will you please come touch me already? I'm dying here, Sev," she practically begged.
By this point he had gotten used to her calling him 'Sev' and rarely thought of Lily anymore when she used the nickname. He chuckled in response and said, "Only if you are absolutely sure you feel up to it."
"Yes, you stubborn man," she whined and took the cup out of his hands and set it on her bedside table. She wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips into his. It was a hungry, needy sort of kiss and he welcomed it. As her lips parted his did the same and she enjoyed the taste of coffee on his tongue.
Brixton pulled the snaps open on his nightshirt and caressed him, her fingers trailing through the peppering of dark hair that ran down his firm chest. He adjusted himself so that he could slip out of the shirt entirely. She tugged on his boxers and moaned softly against Severus' mouth when she found him already hard for her. Pulling him out of the offending clothing, she began pumping his shaft making her intentions clear.
"Shite, Brixton. There's no rush. We can take our time and enjoy this," he urged, finally breaking the kiss.
"Sorry, love. I just want to feel you inside of me so badly. We can take the scenic route another time," she replied lustfully.
Severus shook his head at the witch and all but growled, "No, pet. You will let me shower you in affections exactly how you deserve. Since I can't be rough with you like I would like I'm going to torment you in the absolute best ways possible."
This elicited a breathy gasp from Brixton as Severus pressed his lips to her neck. She had been taking to sleeping in nothing but one of his dark button up shirts and he took advantage of this by slipping a hand up the shirt and cupping her breast. He slowly began tweaking her soft nipple until it was pert. She laced her fingers through his hair and raked his scalp gently. He switched to the other breast and gave it the same attention. By this point she was thoroughly wet couldn't stop herself from putting a hand to her core and teasing her clit.
He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from herself, "Not yet," he rasped, "I will get there, don't you worry."
Brixton wined in frustration and pulled Severus' shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. She hoped seeing all of her would get him where she wanted more quickly. She loved that he was as domineering in the bedroom as the classroom, but she was aching for him already.
Gently pushing her back on the bed to lay on her back, Severus positioned himself above her. He took his wand from the nightstand and cast a quick spell. Suddenly a length of rope shot out of the wand and bound Brixton's wrists to each other above her head. She gasped, but the smile on her face told him that she was just pleasantly surprised. This side of him was something she relished in. She pulled her knees up and rocked her hips causing her thighs to give her the friction she desperately wanted.
"That's cheating, darling," he said as he pressed his thighs between hers. His length pressed against her dripping pussy as he leaned down and ever so slowly pressed a kiss to her lips. She went to open her mouth, but he had already moved on and was kissing her neck down to her breasts. Once he got to his destination he took one nipple in his mouth and began sucking hard against her flesh as he rubbed the other nipple between his thumb and finger. After a while he switched and gave the other breast the same attention.
By this point she was bucking against him as much as she could but he had her thoroughly pinned down. "Severus, please!" she gasped.
He just chuckled and continued with his ministrations. Eventually he worked his way down her stomach, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake. He pressed his lips to the top of her smooth mound and finally put his thumb to her clit and began circling around it teasingly. More pleading sounds escaped Brixton's lips making Severus smirk up at her. He ran a finger down her slit before easing it slowly into her entrance. Slowly pumping the finger in and out of her he curled it forward to hit the spot he knew would cause Brixton the most pleasure.
Brixton's moans began getting louder as Severus put a second finger inside of her. She could feel his hot breath on her as he dipped his head down to lick her from entrance to clit while still pumping his fingers inside of her. Her thighs pressed against his head as he worked her body until she was a squirming mess. He lifted his head and his dark eyes met her green ones and he asked, "What do you want from me? Say it."
"You. Inside. Me. Now," she panted breathlessly.
Severus withdrew his fingers and made his way up her body to kiss Brixton gently. She met his soft kiss with a forceful and desperate one of her own. She licked the taste of herself from his lips. He leaned over and grabbed his wand and banished the rope that was binding her wrists. Brixton responded by lacing her fingers through his soft hair and raking her nails against his scalp. "Please," she all but whispered. Finally he pushed his length into her slowly until he was fully inside of her. He pulled her injured leg up and supported it with his hand as he rhythmically pulled out and pushed into her.
"Is this alright?" he asked looking down at her with concern in his eyes.
"Perfect," she replied.
Afraid of hurting her, Severus had to fight to keep his tempo slow and gentle. Every inch of him wanted to ram himself inside of her until she was a panting mess. "Now you may touch yourself," he instructed before bending down to capture her lips with his own. Brixton did as she was told and soon he was gasping for air and her walls were clenched tight around his cock. His climax followed shortly after hers and he quickly rolled over onto his side to avoid putting any weight on her hurt leg. He quickly cleaned them up with his wand and then performed the contraceptive spell.
"That was… different," she smiled over at him.
"Different in a bad way?" he asked as he reached for his coffee.
"No, just different. I think I prefer when you don't hold back, but I liked that too. Good change of pace," she replied.
"Speaking of a change of pace, would you like to get out of the castle today? Madam Pomfrey has told me that you are well enough to be apparated by myself. You still can't try to apparate by yourself, but it's progress," he smiled.
Brixton sat up straight and did a small dance with her arms, "YES! I would love to get out of here. Where did you have in mind?"
"Remus has been asking me to pay him a visit and I thought that you might like to come along," he said.
Her face lit up with a smile, "Oh that sounds wonderful. Help me get ready so we can go."
They appeared at Grimmauld place just before noon. Brixton wore a knee-length yellow sundress and Severus was dressed in his usual black attire. He reached forward and knocked on the door. It only took moments for the door to open revealing Remus Lupin. "Hello. Brixton! Severus you didn't tell me you would be bringing her along. It is so good to see you," he greeted the pair.
"Hello, Professor. It's so good to see you," Brixton smiled.
"No, call me Remus," he replied. "Now, let's get you in here. I see that you are still healing. Severus told me all about that nasty splinching business."
Remus held the door open while Severus helped her up the stairs. Remus then led them to the kitchen. "I was just finishing up lunch, luckily I have plenty for my extra guest," he said shooting a playfully cross look in Severus' direction.
Severus huffed and replied, "It was unexpected, Remus. I just got Madam Pomfrey to clear Brixton for ride along apparating and thought she would like to see you."
"I am just teasing. I'm very happy to have your company," he said to Brixton as he motioned for them to have a seat at the table. As they sat down Remus began setting plates in front of them and then brought a plate piled high with cucumber sandwiches and a bowl of chopped salad. "Help yourselves," he said, "I'm going to run upstairs and get Teddy."
After they had finished dishing up their food, Brixton put her hand over Severus' and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you for bringing me," she said.
"Of course," was his brief reply.
Remus made his way back into the kitchen carrying a chunky purple haired toddler. "Oh he is adorable!" Brixton practically squealed.
"Takes after his mum," Remus smiled sadly before sitting Teddy down into his highchair and cutting up a sandwich and dishing up some salad for the boy.
"MMMMM" Teddy exclaimed.
Brixton laughed and said, "He must be very hungry."
"He just loves to eat," Remus replied, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately.
"You have a lovely kitchen, Remus," she said while taking a bite of her sandwich.
Remus nodded, "Thank you. Molly, Hermione, and I put a lot of work into it once Harry decided that Teddy and I would be living here for good."
Severus finally spoke and said, "I assume the Wolfsbane potion is treating you well?"
"Perfectly well, thank you. Well, other than it tastes absolutely dreadful, but not much we can do about that," he laughed, "Speaking of, thank you for your work on my much needed potion, Brixton. Severus told me you made half of it and plan to continue to do so. You don't know what it means to me."
She perked up, "I'm more than happy to help and Neville is already planning the increase of wolfsbane in the greenhouses for you. It's the least we can do for what you did for the Order."
Remus dipped his head bashfully and said, "It seems I am relying on the generosity of others quite a lot these days." He then sat down and began eating with Severus and Brixton.
"This is delicious. Thank you, Remus," Brixton said cheerfully.
Severus nodded, "Yes, thank you."
"Oh, you are very welcome. It was nothing fancy," Remus replied.
"You are insufferably modest," teased Severus with a smirk.
Remus laughed and said, "So tell me what's new at Hogwarts. Are you ready to be back to teaching Defense, Severus?"
As they ate their meal Severus discussed all of the changes he intended to make to the Defense curriculum and asked for Remus' input on several things. Brixton smiled to herself watching the two men interact. She had rarely seen Severus so open and relaxed in a social situation and she understood the significance of the unlikely friendship she was witnessing.
Soon Teddy began fussing and tossing food off of his tray. Brixton turned to see that Remus was not finished with his lunch. "May I?" she asked motioning to Teddy.
"Certainly. Thank you," Remus answered.
Brixton pulled out her wand and vanished the mess. She then reached out to Teddy and said, "Hey, buddy. Would you like to sit with me for a bit?"
Teddy reached up toward Brixton. His fussing was beginning to turn into crying. She grabbed him under the arms and pulled him out of the highchair. She then returned to her seat and sat Teddy down in her lap. She then used her wand to conjure three blue glowing orbs. She then charmed them to dance around the toddler. He giggled with delight and reached out for the orbs. Brixton tucked her wand into her high-top sneaker, stroked the boy's hair, and smiled contently.
"You're a natural," beamed Remus.
Brixton turned to Remus and saw that Severus had a very peculiar look on his face that she couldn't quite place. "I grew up with a lot of cousins so I've held my share of babies. I've always been a big baby person," she replied.
"Well, you are welcome to come see Teddy any time you like. I could always use an extra set of hands around here. He's always getting into some kind of mischief at this age," Remus chuckled.
Brixton noticed that Severus had reminded silent this whole time. The expression on his face was still unreadable so she decided to change the subject. Reaching into her bag, Brixton pulled out a white plastic tub. She set it on the table and slid it over to Remus.
"What's this?" he asked.
"I created a scar removal paste. I don't know how you feel about your scars but I thought you might like the option of getting rid of them. Don't feel that you have to on my account, but I wanted to give you a choice," she explained.
"What? Really? Wow. I've always hated these damn scars and what they mean. Yes, I would very much like to get rid of them," Remus answered.
"All you have to do is apply the paste thickly and wait a few minutes. It will start to tingle for a few seconds. When the tingling stops you can wash it off and the scars should be gone," Brixton said.
"Would you mind watching Teddy while I give it a go?" Remus asked.
"Of course not! I would be happy to help," she smiled.
"Thank you, why don't you all go into the living room. Severus knows the way," Remus rose from the table and headed out of the kitchen.
Brixton used her wand to set the dishes to washing themselves. She then followed Severus to the living room. When she was sure Remus was out of earshot, she turned to Severus and asked, "What is the odd look on your face about?"
He sat down on the couch, looked down at his hands, then crossed his arms as though putting up a wall and said, "Nothing of note."
Brixton had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She sat Teddy down on the floor, crossed the room to grab a ball that from a toy box, came back to sit across from Teddy, and began rolling the ball back and forth with him. As she did so she turned back to Severus and said, "If there is one thing I know about you it is that you don't like talking about anything remotely emotional. Something is clearly bothering you. Considering that we are dating it is my job to be there for you when you need to talk. And you DO need to talk. Keeping everything bottled up leads to a very painful and lonely existence."
"What a wise Ravenclaw you are," Severus clipped.
She ignored him and turned back to Teddy and encouraged him to roll the ball back to her. After some time had passed Severus sighed audibly and said, "I apologize. You are right. I have spent years Occluding every ounce of emotion that I have in me besides scorn and malice. It is hard to break old habits."
Brixton nodded and replied, "It's a habit worth trying to break."
He uncrossed his arms to lift a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. Several seconds went by before he finally put the hand down to his lap. Severus said, "It is… difficult seeing you with Teddy. I know that we have not been together very long but I haven't even asked you if you want children one day. I did not presume that we were at that point in a relationship to discuss such things. As Remus said, you clearly are a natural and that worried me a bit. I have been alone for so many years that I had given up on the likelihood of ever having a family of my own. To be honest, a good part of me was always scared that I would turn out like my father if I did have children. I wouldn't want to hold you back if children is something you want in life."
Brixton turned her head back to face Severus and her eyes met his. She said softly, "Is having children completely off the table for you?"
His mouth fell open in surprise. "Ahem. No, I don't suppose so. Would that even be something you wanted? With me I mean," he said his voice barely above a whisper.
"Absolutely. I see past your ill deeds and sour disposition. That's not who you are. That's what a rough life made you into. You have spent the past year proving you can be gentle and kind. Your patience with your classes has greatly improved. You are a work in progress and I think that one day when you are ready you would make an excellent father. You could never be like your own father because it is something you greatly fear. Obviously we have a ways to go in our relationship before that's an option, but I already told you that I love you and I wouldn't be with you if I didn't think you a worthy partner," she said with great emphasis.
Severus shook his head and said, "Brixton, I find myself at a loss for words. No one has ever seen me the way that you see me."
"Good," she laughed, "I don't want to have to chase anyone away from you."
"You know, I've never even been around children younger than eleven. My experience at the school is all I have to go off of. That's a great deal of development that I am completely uneducated on," he said.
Before Brixton could respond Teddy pushed the ball away and began to cry and reach out for her. She scooped him up and put him on one hip and began bouncing him gently. She turned back to Severus and said, "There are loads of books on the matter and I know you can read. The best experience however, is hands on. Watch me. See how I'm just moving him up and down real easy? Babies find that soothing. Here, come take him I want you to try."
Severus frowned, "Absolutely not."
She met his frown with one of her own, "Please, for me? I can't keep doing this much longer I really shouldn't be without my cane just yet."
He rolled his eyes, "You would say that wouldn't you? Fine. Give him here." He stood and walked over to Brixton and took a still fussing Teddy from her arms. He did as he was shown and walked around the room bouncing Teddy gently. It took a few minutes but Teddy finally calmed down and began to coo and rub his eyes. Eventually he fell asleep with his head on Severus' shoulder.
Brixton walked over to Severus and stood on her tip toes to give him a kiss. She laughed quietly, "The great Severus Snape: former Death Eater, spy, terrifying professor… frightened of a baby."
"Can it," he snapped back without any real venom.
Remus suddenly entered the room and said, "I never in a million years thought I would see you put my son to sleep, Severus."
Severus smirked back, "How things change."
Remus said, "I'm so glad we mended the fence between us."
Brixton said, "Remus, you look so very different."
"I know," he replied, "and that's just the scars you can see. The ones on my chest were particularly nasty. That stuff is amazing. You are going to make a fortune. Have you looked into selling?"
"Yes, actually. It's already selling in George's shop," she replied.
"Brilliant," Remus said stepping close to Severus, "Let me take him to bed and I will brew us all some tea."
The three spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and Remus gave Severus some rare books on the Dark Arts from the Black library that he thought might be useful for his teaching. Brixton realized it was the happiest she had felt since her injury and she savored every moment of it.